TreasureHunting
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UK inventor crafts remote controlled treasure hunting robot
Although John Corney's RC treasure hunter hasn't happened upon any $10 billion finds or unreleased iPhone knockoffs, the remote controlled truck has indeed scrounged up part of a Medieval Pilgrims badge which has now been donated to Warminster Library Museum. The off-roading machine is essentially a souped up metal detector on wheels (er, tracks) that has an on-board camera "to show its controller where it is going." The creator is already "qualified in remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) control," and has used his mountain climbing machine to land "hundreds" of old coins and medieval artifacts including a World War II medical badge. The project didn't come easy, however, as Mr. Corney has spent over seven years and £2,000 ($3,958) honing its skills, but apparently, he's hunting down VCs right now to help bring "Champion the Wonder Robot" to market.[Via Robot-Gossip]
Controversial Arturito bot survives scientific testing
There was some understandable skepticism last time we brought you news of the amazing, seemingly physics-defying robot nicknamed Arturito -- yes, it's supposed to sound like R2D2 -- which has managed to find buried bones, hidden treasure, and underground mineral deposits at depths previously thought to be inaccessible with current technology. Tired of all the potshots from the scientific community (one professor called the machine's supposed ability to analyze a nuclear signal reflected from multi-hundred-foot depths "delirious"), the rather unphotogenic inventor Manuel Salinas brought what's formally known as the "Geo-Radar" system to Chile's Universidad Tecnológico Metropolitano for testing -- and wouldn't you know it, the darn thing actually works. Even though the bot will surely continue to have its detractors, its almost perfect accuracy in finding deep copper deposits during the university trial has convinced the most important folks of all that Arturito is the real deal: the eager businesspeople who are throwing cash at Salinas to get their hands on one.[Via Cnet]
